The perfect spot

Nothing in Colombia is ever straight forward. Least of all buying land.

In general, Colombian people have many endearing qualities. There is always time to stop for a chat, there are very few things in life that require major urgency, there´s always mañana. Another great attribute is their acceptance and tolerance. This has made it a great country to live in, people are very accepting and patient and we will always be greatful for the way we were recieved here with such warmth. To us queue-loving, wrist-watch wearing Brits however, there are always cultural stumbles and misunderstandings as a result of our hesitation to take a more Latin approach to life. Sometimes it pays to keep your wits about you though!

Here in Colombia, it´s surprisingly straight forward to buy land as a foreigner. As we´ve been living here for the past four years and have seen many of our other expat friends buy properties, the paperwork side of things didnt seem too tricky... well, no more tricky than you´d expect. Finding a property that´s ´clean´ as the locals say, referring to it´s financial past, is the tricky bit! We came close to buying three different properties, each time saved just in the nick of time by our lawyer or surveyor or friends doing some digging and spotting some hidden debts attached. A minor detail the laidback sellers neglected to mention.

Eventually we found our perfect spot, a plot with half buildable land, half forest, a nice view (even with Purace volcano poking through the tree tops) and inside a gated community with someone keeping an eye on things should we want to take off travelling for a few weeks. It´s not a huge bit of land, 1030 metres2 but it´s perfect for what we want. Plenty of space for rainwater collection tanks, on a ridge without shade to mess with the solar panels and more than enough room for a veggie plot and some composting.